A photo every day for a year! 26th July - 1st August Week 31 of #Project365

Happy Sunday!! I hope you've all had a lovely week and are enjoying your weekend. I am having a great weekend. On Friday night, Becky and I went out for a meal, then met up with Stu and then Ellie later in the evening and went to The Irish bar in town. It was exactly the sort of night I needed. Yesterday I caught up on the housework and then the weekend has been filled with wrestling as it was on Friday night, last night and tonight. I did think about staying up to watch. It started at midnight but I decided just to play catch up.

Now for a photo every day!

207/365 26th July

Phew! This was easier than I thought it was going to be, verifying my age for a game I play. It's a new thing that has been introduced and I wasn't sure I could do it without photo ID. I did it and then found out I didn't even need to do it because I don't use the social or chat features on the game.

208/365 27th July

This one went for a job interview. She didn't get the job but it was a great experience for her. She had her fancy clothes on and I had to get a photo before she went and did her hair and make-up. It made me smile because it feels like only yesterday she was getting ready for school and now she is going off to interviews and looking for work.

209/365 28th July

I dyed my hair and first up was lightening it with the bleach. I always panic a little when I do this and think, will this be the time my hair fries and falls out? I feel like I have been lucky so far though, and my hair is in decent condition considering I bleach it every 12 weeks and colour it every 6. I

210/365 29th July

Becky baked a banana loaf! There might have been a couple of almost mishaps along the way though. At one point she got a teaspoon and a tablespoon mixed up and there was a little panic about whether she had overcooked it but it all worked out OK and the banana loaf was perfect!

211/365 30th July

My peppers are finally growing! I have been waiting patiently and they seem to have taken forever! Ellie doesn't usually get excited about what I am growing in the garden but she is interested in these as they are her favourite vegetable. Now I just need to keep them alive long enough for us to actually eat them!

212/365 31st July

Just me! Not the greatest of photos, I am so bad at taking selfies!

213/365 1st August

I am on a mission to find more of these plates. Becky has always said when she leaves home she is taking them and we only have two and I love them too. I think my dad gave us a pile of random plates years ago and these were in the mix. Anyway, I've made it my mission to find more of them online and I can find them but I am not paying the silly prices people are asking. £113 for 5 plates. Eesh! I will keep looking.

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This week my Word of the Week is: Applying!! #WotW

This week my Word of the Week is: 

How weird is this? Exactly a year ago my Word of the Week was applying, just like this week. Last year it was all about Stu applying for jobs but this year it is all about Ellie applying for them and Becky applying for houses.

It's crazy to think this time last year Stu wanted to quit his job because he hated it but what a difference a year makes. There were unrealistic targets, people were walking out, he didn't like anyone he worked with and the bonuses and targets weren't achievable. Last year, Stu had a lot of tellings off because he wasn't pushing products enough. There was one call which really stuck with him. A woman rang to change her contract because she was fleeing domestic violence and his manager said Stu wasn't doing his job properly because he didn't try and sell her a new phone! Can you believe that? There is a time and a place to try and sell someone something and that wasn't it. Some things matter far more than sales targets. He had firm words with his managers and they listened and since then, things have been amazing! If there is something he doesn't feel comfortable with, he just says no and no one argues! He gets to pick his hours. As long as he does 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, they don't care when he starts, finishes or what day he goes in. He has a good group of people that he is friends with and apart from the freezing because of the air conditioning, he's happy at work. He's been told the only reason he hasn't been promoted to manager is because he can't do late shifts, Sundays and Bank Holidays. He said he wouldn't want to be a manager anyway, there's too much stress.

Ellie has been great at applying for jobs since she left college and I couldn't be any prouder. I thought I would have to nag her more but I'll be looking through job websites and ask if she's applied for a certain job and nine times out of ten she already has. She's so organised about it too. She has around four different versions of her CV depending on the type of job she's applying for. I didn't even think about doing that when I was younger. This week she had another job interview but sadly didn't get it. She's not devastated and it has actually given her more motivation. Every interview seems to give her more confidence and helps her understand what employers are looking for. She's becoming more comfortable talking to new people, travelling to different places and stepping well outside of her comfort zone.

Becky has been applying for more houses. Her and her partner had thought about buying but have decided that renting is the better option for now. They are still waiting to hear back from the one they viewed last week but the letting agent said there were a few applicants and the owner of the house is taking their time considering everyone. They are not fussy and have been applying for different houses which have come up locally. Rent prices are strange though. I've seen 3 bedroom houses for £600 a month, a 2 bedroom for £650 and a 1 bedroom place is £700 all within a 5 minute walk of each other. Make it make sense. lol You'd think the bigger house would automatically be the most expensive but it all seems a bit random sometimes. Becky isn't asking for much, at least one bedroom, close to work and with a decent landlord. Every house they apply for comes with another mountain of paperwork. There are forms to fill in, documents to scan, references to provide and then everything has to be emailed back. They seem to be getting quite good at it now though.

Hopefully, all this applying will pay off soon. Ellie will get a job and Becky will get the keys to her own place and can start making it feel like home!

How has your week been? I hope you have had a good one! I am of course linking up with Anne who blogs at Raisie Bay to join in with her Word of the Week linky!